Daylight Saving Time 101

Daylight saving time is the practice of setting the clocks forward one hour during the spring and back again in the fall in order to take advantage of natural daylight. It has both benefits and negative consequences. This video helps you understand all of them.

In spring we move our clocks forward an hour and in Fall we
move them back an hour. That section in between, we call that daylight savings time…oh...it's
singular...I’m sorry, it's Daylight Saving Time.

It may seem pretty straightforward, but Daylight Saving Time
has both serious repercussions and major benefits.

In the United States of America 48 states observe Daylight
Saving Time, with Hawaii, most of Arizona, and the US territories of Guam,
American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands choosing to ignore it.

In Spring, the 48 states all jump
ahead an hour and the immediate effects can be disastrous, while in the long
term the benefits shine brightest, no pun intended.

One study found that the average American worker loses forty
minutes of sleep when the clock springs forward.

That means lots of people could be losing an hour of sleep
or more on the same night, essentially giving us all jet-lag. And sleep
deprivation can lead to serious health issues.

According to studies, the first Monday of Daylight Saving
Time has 25% more heart attacks than a typical Monday . Car accidents go up 17%
in the days after time shift. Workplace accidents go up about six percent and workers are 67% more likely to
miss work due to these accidents .

And workplace accidents aren’t the only thing companies have
to face. Productivity goes way down the first Monday after Daylight Saving Time
.

Daylight Saving Time isn’t even universal. Fewer than half
of the countries in the world actually use it, and few agree on when it starts
or ends.

The switch to Daylight Saving has a lot of negatives, but why do we do it at all?

The real reason we kept Daylight Saving Time and extended it...Economics.

Some studies suggest we spend
money when it’s sunny outside.

If it’s light out after work or school, people spend more at
the shops.

From 1968-1971 the UK kept their version of Daylight Saving
Time for the whole year—and traffic deaths declined by 11% because it was light
after work during the winter.

Another recent study found that kids are more likely to
exercise outside during the winter Daylight Saving Time rather than huddling
inside after school.

With benefits and negative effects, it’s no wonder Daylight
Saving Time has opponents and supporters. On what side of the clock do you
stand?

Daylight Saving Time 101

Daylight saving time is the practice of setting the clocks forward one hour during the spring and back again in the fall in order to take advantage of natural daylight. It has both benefits and negative consequences. This video helps you understand all of them.